Lake Taupō death mystery: two people identified

Police have named the two people found dead on the shore of Lake Taupō last week.

Trevor Malcolm Wiringi, 50, and Helen Dorothy Smith, 49, were from Rotorua, a spokesperson said in a statement.

The bodies of the couple were discovered, submerged in water, around 7 a.m. on October 16.

A local man previously told the Herald that he saw revelers feasting in the hot pools on the shore of Lake Taupō 12 hours before the two bodies were found.

He said he passed two women and a man, who appeared to be drunk, at the popular Hot Water Beach spot. He saw a woman emerge from a pool wrapped in a towel while the man dangled his legs in the hot water.

“I think at that stage they were intoxicated,” he said, describing their behavior as loud and drunk.

He did not recognize anyone in the group.

The man, who was taking his family for a swim at a nearby hotel, returned to the same spot an hour later when a bloody moan pierced the air.

“We had finished swimming. We heard the noise, we got into the car and headed towards where it came from. It was a horrible noise,” he said.

“By the time we got there, the police were leaving.”

He saw that the group continued to celebrate loudly after the police left.

Police previously said the couple’s deaths were not suspicious. Their deaths will be referred to the coroner.

Detective Sergeant Major Ryan Yardley has said the two bodies were found by a member of the public shortly after 7 a.m.

Taupō Mayor David Trewavas said that learning that two people had lost their lives was a tragedy.

“Waking up to a beautiful, crystal clear day, the lake is so pristine, and for someone to come across two dead people is very, very unfortunate,” he told the Herald.